York Roman Bath Museum

About York Roman Bath Museum

Hidden beneath the Roman Bath public house is one of the city’s oldest and best-loved attractions. Previously The Mail Coach, the pub’s current name derives from the discovery in the 1930s of the fortress bathhouse, used exclusively by the troops of the VI and IX Legions.
From a walkway, visitors can view the well-preserved remains of the Roman steam baths, particularly the caldarium (the hot room), with its hypocaust pillars for circulating heat underneath. There is also a small part of the frigidarium (a cold room with a plunge bath) and displays about the Roman legions who visited. The baths originally covered a large area, including most of St Sampson’s Square outside and some of the streets now behind the pub.